"THISJUSTIN"

Urgent Message:

'Leadership Philosophy Statement'

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Before I took this class, I had a different perspective of a leader.  I used to believe that a leader was the “main person in charge” and the one that everybody listened too.  Even though this may be true, I believe that a leader is someone who will do whatever it takes to help someone, or a group of people, reach a goal.  A leader is organized, has a vision for the future, and can communicate efficiently with their followers and people around them."  This statement is what I wrote in my Leadership Philosophy Statement four years ago and although I still believe what I wrote, I have been able to add to and expand my perspective on what a leader is.  I now have furthered my knowledge on leadership and strongly believe that a leader follows 3 P's: Passion, Purpose, and People.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                               https://www.pinterest.com/andrew628/motivational/

 

Passion

Passion is a very strong feeling about a person or thing.  Passion is an intense emotion, a compelling enthusiasm or desire for something.  I have learned over the past four years that all great achievements start with passion and it is what drives everything.  When a leader is passionate, people feel a deep sense of being led in a worthy direction by someone who is committed to something more important than their own goals.  This passion is where my inspirational leadership comes from.  An inspirational leader is one that provides and articulates a clear vision for followers.  They are passionate and motivated towards their goals and instill those in other followers.  Different involvements and experiences at Virginia Tech have showed me that when leaders are truly passionate, others feel included in making things happen.  In my Leadership Philosophy Statement from four years ago, I wrote that "Although there are many things that I want to get involved with, one future leadership role that I see myself fulfilling is being the 2015 Female Member-At-Large. I know that I would do an amazing job doing this role and would be able to lead so efficiently because of my passion for Virginia Tech.  Because of this passion, I could easily persuade people to follow decisions made by the class officers and hopefully make positive changes for Virginia Tech."  This quote was written before I was selected to be in the position of 2015 Female Member-At-Large, and the dedication to this position has opened the door to multiple opportunities and has given me the ability to lead our entire Class of 2015.  One important indicator of this passion is the ability to stay committed despite adversity and setbacks.  When difficulties have arised, I have held to my principles and found a way to push forward.  Furthermore, this strong passion has allowed me to have continuous energy.  Donald Trump once said, "Without passion, you don't have energy; without energy, you have nothing."  College has been an essential time for reaffirming my passions and beliefs and allowing them to guide me to have a clear vision and purpose to lead others.  

 

 

Purpose

A leader must establish purpose, the direction they stand for and the reason why others should follow.  Leadership emerges from a purpose, knowing what you do and why you are choosing to do it.  The same shared purpose is what brings together a group who believe in your cause and what you are trying to accomplish.  It's what gives people motivation and excites them to be part of a movement and keep pushing through when hard times arise. Idealized influence is when leaders are role models and people look to them for guidance.  Idealized influence for leaders must foster mutual respect and trust between themselves and followers. Having a purpose allows for a leader to understand others perspectives and have respect and appreciation for their goals. During my time here at Virginia Tech, I have been very involved in Relay For Life by being on committees, raising funds, and spreading awareness about Cancer in the community.  Relay For Life has a shared vision for finding a cure to cancer, which is what makes Virginia Tech the #1 Collegiate Relay.  A purpose defines where you want to go, your mission, and how you are going to do it.  By being involved with Relay, I have seen the power that purpose has in leadership.  By combinding purpose and power, I have been able to pursuade others to get involved and make a change.  When times get tough, we band together to remember our goals and our purpose for why we are doing what we are doing.  The resulting collaboration has lead to reaching goals that we never thought we could accomplish and change the communities around us.  

 

 

People

Ekaterina Walker once said, "No matter how you look at it, no matter which field you are in, no matter how brilliant your ideas are, success is a team sport." We have grown up hearing the saying "There is no I in Team."  However, I never thought this would connect to leadership and things other than sporting events.  Innovation comes from people working together and collaborating on goals and challenges each day.  The success of accomplishing our purpose and passiong depends on the people with whom we choose to work with.  You won't be able to able to reach your full potential without a shared vision and dreams of your team.  You can imagine the most amazing outcome or future, but it requires a team because success is a team sport.  With everything that I have been involved in throughout my four years at Virginia Tech, nothing has been accomplished alone.  Everything has been done with the support of other Hokies and my family and friends that have a shared vision and dreams to make a change.  In my previous leadership philosophy statement I wrote, "I keep my head-up in most situations and persuade people to look at the bright side of most situations.  This is being bold because I am not afraid to strike a conversation with a complete stranger and include everybody in situations.  Both of these talents show that I am a very relationship oriented leader."  Being a relationship oriented leader has allowed me to positively persuade people to set goals, and find the passion and purpose when the goals seem difficult to reach.  Overall, finding positive and inspired people to make a team allows for goals to be reached above and beyond their potential. 

 

 

 

 

Sources: 

 

Komives, S. R., & Wagner, W. (2009). Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. To purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Better-World-Understanding-Development/dp/0470449497

 

Previous Leadership Philosophy Statement-